Waking Ned Devine Review

by Murali Krishnan (murali24 AT my-dejanews DOT com)
January 20th, 1999
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Waking Ned Devine

[2.5/4.0]

Tullymore is a quiet little Irish country village. When two old friends, Jackie and Michael, discover that the latest lottery was won by one of the village's residents, they hatch a plan to find out who the winner is (which should not be hard since they know everyone in town), befriend them, and share in the winnings. Then they discover that the winner was kind old Ned Devine, who had immediately died upon the shock of his win. Since Ned has no family, his winning would be going back to the lottery, so Jackie and Michael decide it would be best if someone else pretended to be Ned, claimed the prize, and shared the winnings. It will not be easy since they will need the cooperation of the whole village and not all may go along.

Like most of the characters in it, this film is quite cute. It presents the Irish coastal countryside as almost a character by itself, with beauty and charm. The rough cliffs, lush woods, and enchanting streams reflect a simplicity and purity to the slow, rustic life. However, many of the characters presented were not given much depth, and the subplots of the pig farmer's romance with a single mother, and the small boy who seems wiser than the substitute priest seemed extraneous. There is a similarity in the narrative to A Simple Plan, but this film has an altogether different tone than that one. The need to neatly wrap up the subplots at the close of the main narrative felt jarring in its superfluousness. The film has a pleasant lightness of tone and provides a good share of well-paced laughs, and the cuteness of its main characters (particularly Michael) is quite endearing. The storyline closes at what would appear to be the beginning point of the more interesting story, but it goes far enough as a showcase of the charm of rural Ireland.

Moderately Recommended. This film does not contain anything exceptional, but is certainly charming and enjoyable. It does not strive to do very much, but does accomplish what it sets out to do.

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Murali Krishnan
The Art House Squatter
http://pages.hotbot.com/movies/murali24/

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